What It Takes®

Africa's preeminent writer, and one of its greatest advocates for democracy and justice, talks here about the activism that landed him in solitary confinement for two years during Nigeria's civil war. Wole Soyinka was the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He describes here his life growing up under British colonial rule, and explains why his favorite form of literary expression is theater.www.achievement.org#whatittakesnow(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

One of the most significant revolutions in science is underway, and yet most people haven't even heard of it. It's called CRISPR, and it is an easy, inexpensive process for cutting and pasting DNA - the code of life. It is already being used in human trials to cure genetic disease, and it promises to transform agriculture, with drought-resistant crops that will better feed the world. But it also threatens to usher in a frightening era of designer babies and unintended consequences. The two lead scientists behind CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna and Feng Zhang, talk here about their lives and their research, and they sound the alarm about the dangers of their own discovery. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

She was a Maori child from a working class family, who grew up by the sea in a remote New Zealand town... So how did Kiri Te Kanawa rise to become one of the greatest sopranos of all time? She tells the story here, starting with a vision her mother had of her singing at Covent Garden, a vision that became a reality. She also tells the hair-raising tale of her accidental debut at the Met; she was given just three hours notice, but it turned her into an international opera superstar, overnight.  And she describes with great amusement, her invitation to sing at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

When Amy Tan wrote her first book, The Joy Luck Club, she was trying to portray the difficult relationship she had had with her mother, a Chinese immigrant to the United States, and the emotional voyage they took to understand each other. But the novel struck a universal chord, and it became a massive bestseller, launching Amy Tan’s career as a literary superstar. Tan talks here candidly about the traumas in her life (the death of both her father and her brother when she was 15), and about the unusual path she took to start writing fiction at the age of 33.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

This is the story of a working class son of Manchester, England, who came to change skylines around the globe, envision a future for architecture that is in harmony with the environment, and design solutions to the most pressing problems of the world’s poor. In his 50 years as an architect, Norman Foster has designed an abundance of iconic buildings & sites, including the Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, London’s “Gherkin” and City Hall, Hong Kong’s Check Lap Kok Airport, Berlin’s new Reichstag Building and New York’s Hearst Tower. He talks here about falling in love with architecture before he knew what it was. And he describes designing modern spaces that encourage community, and uplift the humans who use them.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

Toni Morrison was a novelist and Nobel Prize Winner, who carved a space for African-American women’s voices and stories. Hal Prince was a producer & director, who had a hand in shaping Broadway for over five decades. These two giants of American culture recently died, just days apart. In 2007 they shared a stage and regaled young leaders with lessons they’d learned over the course of their storied careers. On this special episode, we play their inspiring talks.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

Peter Jackson grew up in a country without any film industry or film schools, and yet, he only ever wanted to do one thing: make movies. The story of how he came to direct The Lord of the Rings (and Heavenly Creatures, The Hobbit, King Kong, and They Shall Not Grow Old) is both improbable and inspiring. He tells the story here of how he quit school to earn enough money for a 16 millimeter camera, and then, while learning to use it, inadvertently created his first feature length film -- a gory, sci fi comedy that landed him at the Cannes Film Festival. Jackson also describes what an audacious and unlikely idea it was that he, a New Zealander who made campy “splatter movies” as he calls them, would get the rights and the funding to turn the Lord of the Rings into a film trilogy. But the Rings of Power were clearly on his side. They were three of the most technically sophisticated and highest earning films of all time.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

The ocean covers 70% of the earth. It regulates our climate and it provides most of the oxygen we breathe. And yet we still know very little about it. Well, this is the story of two people who have spent the past 60 years discovering the mysteries of the deep. Sylvia Earle is one of the world’s greatest marine scientists, and David Doubilet is one of the world’s greatest underwater photographers. Each tells the story of falling in love with life underwater. Each talks about how technology has transformed their ability to explore. Each describes the rapid destruction of the oceans they have witnessed first-hand. And each delivers a powerful message that if we humans continue to damage the oceans with abandon, we put human life at risk.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

Babe Ruth's home run record held for almost four decades. But then Hank Aaron came along and smashed it. On the way to making baseball history, Aaron persevered through poverty, segregation, racism, and threats on his life. He talks here about joining the Negro Leagues, about playing through a period of transformation in America, and about helping to change the world by doing what he did best - swinging that bat.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

In honor of the 4th of July, we are featuring the foremost champion of civil liberties in America, and a man who embodies the American Dream. Anthony Romero tells the inspiring story here of his path from a housing project in New York City to an Ivy League university and eventually to the head of the ACLU, where he has been Executive Director since 2001. Romero also talks about the tremendous growth of the organization during his tenure, the non-partisan philosophy that drives their work, and some of the issues they are most focused on at the moment. And he reveals a powerful personal story about overcoming mistakes in life.#WhatItTakesNowwww.achievement.org(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019